Metal Gear- Zero Kelvin
by unclepauly
Summary: Set after Ghost Babel, Snake heads for Antartica to solve a hostage crisis. Suggestions please!
1. Insertion

The paddle sliced through the water, cutting down deep and propelling the canoe forward. The canoeist handled the oar like an expert, keeping the craft moving at a steady and rapid speed. As the sun shone done on the he made his way through the water weaving around ice and small white islands that had broken off from the mainland. His eyes constantly searched the huge snow covered landmass in front of him, checking for any kind of movement.  
  
Alongside him two huge dorsal fins broke the surface, cutting through the calm waters even faster than he was. The fins where black and as the man in the canoe craned his neck for a better look he saw two large black and white forms gliding along. The killer whales swam off, leaving the canoeist on his own.  
  
An hour later he reached the mainland. He dragged the small craft ashore with him and laid it down in the snow, where its white mass was almost invisible. He knelt down beside it and took his equipment from inside. As the cold winds blew across the pure white landscape he stood.  
  
He was wearing Artic gear, a thick white coat with matching combats. Slung across his shoulder was a rifle. His face was covered in brown stubble, his unkempt hair kept in some form of order by a green bandana. A small pair of blue snow goggles hung around his neck and his white boots held firm upon the slippery surface of the ground.  
  
Solid Snake looked around and a wry smile formed on his lips. He pulled the hood of the coat around his head and began to walk, trudging through the snow, further into the white nothing. 


	2. Storm rising...

It was four hours later that Snake stopped walking and even then it was not of his own free will. In this sort of environment Snake felt totally in control, he was in his territory. What had stopped him was the bleeping of the Codec. That almost certainly meant Campbell. He stopped and answered the call.  
  
A familiar voice confirmed Snake's suspicions. Roy Campbell, ex-leader of FOXHOUND, was the man calling the shots on this mission and it would be his orders that Snake would be following. Snake didn't mind that at all, Campbell was a man whom he respected and would do his best for the mission.  
  
"Snake, are you picking this up?"  
  
"Yeah, Colonel, I hear you. There's a little static but it could be worse."  
  
"It's to be expected Snake, the weather there isn't too good at the moment. I have reports of a blizzard coming your way."  
  
"Nothing I can't handle"  
  
"I doubt that Snake. You won't make it to the outpost before it hits."  
  
"Well what do we do then?"  
  
"I've just contacted USNSF outpost. It's an American outpost near your area. They're sending a few men out to get you in a Sno-Cat, it's too risky to fly a chopper. They'll bring you to their outpost and assist you as needed when you set out to complete your mission, understood?"  
  
"How long before they reach me?"  
  
"Well, if you keep walking and they don't lose your GPS signal they'll reach you within five hours."  
  
"Thanks Colonel. Any update on the situation?"  
  
"Still no demands and we've received no further communications. We'll keep you informed. Campbell out."  
  
As the transmission ended Snake grimaced and shook his head.  
  
"Yeah, sure you will."  
  
The irony in his voice seemed to linger in the air, even when he'd left, walking at an even faster pace. 


	3. Assistance

Snake barely felt the cold as he trekked across the frozen wasteland. Part of this was due to the heavy clothing he was wearing, but Snake felt that an equally large part was to do with himself. He felt at home in this kind of place, it sort of suited his personality. Out here the conditions were extreme, if you weren't strong enough you'd die. This sort of climate taught you to respect nature and revealed how much harm it could easily do to you.  
  
The time flew by, he wasn't even aware of it. Each step blurred with the other, the process of one foot forward repeating over and over, creating monotony that was almost reassuring. Snake breathed the crisp cold air slowly.  
  
He was in his element here.  
  
He was snapped out of his trance by the sound of an engine. He looked up, squinting to try see through the snow that was beginning to fall. He caught a glimpse of red, a flash as the sun reflected off of the windscreen.  
  
Unsure whether they'd seen him Snake began to jog toward the Sno-Cat. When he was ten meters away it stopped and he could see one of the side doors opening. He ran over and climbed in, amazed by the sudden warmth of the Sno-Cat's cabin.  
  
As the warmth began to sink into him Snake turned to face the two men sitting beside him. They were both wearing identical blue overcoats on top of multiple layers of clothing. The man closest to Snake had short black hair and stubble. The other, who was driving wore a pair of sunglasses and a woolly hat. His brown beard covered most of his face.  
  
The first man smiled and spoke.  
  
"Hi, I'm McCready, I'm the outpost's helicopter pilot."  
  
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the pilot's direction.  
  
"This here's Childs, he's one of the mechanics. We're the dumb bastards that got saddled with picking you up. What in God's name are you doing out here?"  
  
"I'm military," answered Snake.  
  
"I know that, the radio call told us as much. But how the hell did you get here?"  
  
"By plane"  
  
"Bullshit, nothing can fly in this weather, otherwise I'd have picked you up in the chopper"  
  
"I didn't go the whole way by plane. I parachuted out and went the rest by canoe"  
  
"Canoe? That must've taken some doing!"  
  
"Not much"  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
"Problem over in the Norwegian outpost"  
  
McCready looked at the rifle by Snake's side.  
  
"Must be a pretty big problem. Why aren't the Norwegians dealing with it?"  
  
"Classified"  
  
McCready shrugged and nodded. Childs coughed and scratched his beard. They spent the rest of the journey in silence. 


	4. Station

The Sno-Cat glided along the snow at high speeds, it's caterpillar tracks aiding in its speedy movement. It pulled up to the US owned outpost.  
  
It was a large snow-covered building, not far from it stood a tall meteorological balloon tower. Surrounding the main building were sheds of varying size, all linked by wooden pathways in the snow. Two helicopters and another Sno-Cat sat idle nearby, covered by mounds of ever growing snow.  
  
Snake turned to McCready.  
  
"What exactly do you do here?"  
  
"Not much if we can help it. Outpost #31 was set up by the United States National Science Fund to study the physical and natural sciences of the continent. Childs and me are only personnel but there's a load of scientists down there. We've got a load of equipment and a lab. The place is huge, it doesn't look much on the outside but there's a maze of hallways and rooms beneath that the scientists use for the research."  
  
"Anything like the Norwegian outpost?"  
  
"I don't know. Probably."  
  
"Mind if I take a look around? It might come in useful to have a working knowledge of one of these places"  
  
"You'll have to ask the station manager but it shouldn't be a problem"  
  
Childs parked the Sno-Cat beside the other vehicles and they all climbed out. From the main building Snake could see someone, wrapped up in heavy coats, approaching. The man shook his hand and gestured toward the indoors. Snake glanced at McCready and Childs, saw that they were examining one of the choppers, and followed the other man. As they walked he talked.  
  
"I'm Sam Norris, I'm the station manager. I can tell you that when I received that call this morning I thought it was a joke. How did you get here?"  
  
"Plane, then boat."  
  
"Right. What's all this about?"  
  
"Problem at the Norwegian outpost eighty kilometres from here. It's classified."  
  
"Ok"  
  
"Mind if I take a look round?"  
  
"Not a problem. What will you be doing when the blizzard passes?"  
  
"We'll discuss that later. I want to have a look at the entire site to give me a general idea of how a station is laid out." 


	5. Outlay

Snake walked through every inch of the base, taking note of all the important structures. The interior was a cramped and never ending maze of hallways, passageways and doors that connected the many rooms and compartments within the compound. Sturdy, but prefabricated materials had been used in its construction.  
  
There was a laboratory, an infirmary, a kitchen and a mess hall. A communications room and sleeping quarters. Other cubicles were for storage and supplies.  
  
The most spacious area of the building, and the main centre of activity, was the Rec Room. The below quarter housed the generator and still other compartments for storage. A long underground tunnel connected the main compound to the dog kennel.  
  
As Snake moved round looking at everything he got strange looks from the inhabitants of the station. They were probably wondering how some one had appeared out of thin air, having not be told that Snake would be arriving.  
  
When his look around was completed Snake bumped into the station manager again.  
  
"Hey, get a good look?"  
  
"Yeah, I think I covered everything."  
  
"Good, I'll show you the barracks, we've got a few extra bunks so we should be able to sort you out."  
  
"How long 'till I can leave?"  
  
"Well the blizzard just began to pick up there now, I'd say it'll be a few days until it dies down. You'll have to wait longer if you want to go by helicopter."  
  
"That won't be necessary. I noticed that you have dogs."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Mind if I borrow some of them along with a sleigh?"  
  
"Shouldn't be a problem, we don't use them unless the weather is extremely bad or we're low on fuel"  
  
***  
  
The next day, as the blizzard howled outside Snake was called into the comms room. A video link up with Campbell had been achieved. Snake sat down beside the communications operator and began to speak to his CO.  
  
"Everything okay Snake? Where there any complications concerning the pick- up?"  
  
"No, no problems"  
  
"Good. We've been unable to reach you by Codec because of this damned storm. We should be able to get through okay."  
  
"What's the weather forecast?"  
  
"This blizzard will probably blow out in the next 48 hours. You can head out then. Have the personnel at the base helped you out?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm going in by dog and sled"  
  
"I thought they had a chopper"  
  
"They do but I don't think it would be the best course of action. I want to get in quietly"  
  
"Snake, we don't have that kind of time. Get them to fly you in, that's an order. I'll contact you again tomorrow."  
  
"Will do"  
  
The screen shuddered and went blank. Snake frowned. Knowing that he couldn't take the dogs in was a bit of a disappointment to him. He thought he would've had fun. 


	6. White Out

Two days later McCready and Childs were fuelling up the helicopter, preparing it for the flight. Snake sat silently in the cockpit holding onto his rifle, waiting to get going. He was annoyed about having to take the helicopter. The weather had cleared enough for him to use the dogs yesterday; he would have almost been there by now. The helicopter would be noisy and might alert the base of their approach, something Snake didn't want. He'd get McCready to drop him off a few miles from the compound to ensure a quieter and undetected approach.  
  
McCready and Childs climbed in and McCready took the controls. As the engine jumped into life and the blades began to rotate he turned to Snake.  
  
"Just in case you're wondering, the wind speed is about twenty-six knots, so taking this thing up is technically suicide"  
  
"You don't seem too worried"  
  
"Yeah, well it gets a little boring round here"  
  
Snake gave a low chuckle, he had a vague idea of what McCready meant. Sometimes you would do anything to break the tedium of everyday life.  
  
McCready fought violently with the yoke as the he struggled to get the craft into the air, winds battering it back down. Finally he managed to right it and brought them up into the air before dipping the nose and heading off in the direction of Snake's objective. As the white ground flashed by beneath him Snake realised how close to the ground they were. McCready was hovering about ten feet off of the ground, only pulling up when he came to higher landmasses.  
  
Snake looked closer at what appeared to be a pink patch of snow. McCready noticed his stare and spoke.  
  
"Polar bears. That's one of their kill sites. All that pink is blood, probably a seal. Do you see that red trail? That's were the bear dragged the carcass away"  
  
"They're pretty dangerous then?"  
  
"As true as God. We have this image of big cuddly things that drink Coca- Cola but the fact is they'll tear anything to pieces. They have no natural predators, they're known for killing whales four times their size"  
  
Snake nodded and returned his gaze to the snow, wondering how a place so desolate could be so beautiful. Behind him Childs started talking to McCready.  
  
"Wind speed is falling, we should be able to climb a little higher"  
  
"Why is it that you fly so low?" asked Snake.  
  
"The reason is, if I lose control we don't fall too far and have a better chance of surviving."  
  
"Makes sense"  
  
"Yeah, but the fact is even if we survive the crash we'll be out in one of the most barren places on Earth. If the base can't reach us in time we're as good as dead"  
  
Snake looked back out his window. He was pretty sure he could make it if such an event occurred. The flight went on, the helicopter climbing slightly. Snake fell asleep, knowing that he might not get the chance for a while.  
  
***  
  
He was awoken by McCready.  
  
"How far from the base do you want dropped off?"  
  
"About three miles"  
  
"Shit man, that's not such a hot idea. That kinda walk has a high risk of frostbite. Sure you don't want to.HOLY SHIT!!!"  
  
Snake heard a loud whooshing sound and an explosion rocked the helicopter, filling it with light. McCready gripped the controls and began to pull back on them, yelling at Childs. Snake held on tightly to his seat, aware of a plume of black smoke by his window.  
  
As McCready tried desperately to control the vehicle the snow rushed up to meet the cockpit. The chopper began to lean over, black smoke filling up the cockpit.  
  
Snake caught a flash of white as the helicopter crashed into the ground and then everything was black. 


End file.
